Typical hydrogels are gel-like or colloidal substances made of water and solids. They are often created chemically through a combination of ultra violet cross-linking and chemical interface. Hydrogels have a broad range of applications in the biomedical field such as tissue engineering and drug delivery. For instance, they can be used as biomaterial carriers in transdermal drug delivery, wound care, conductive and non-conductive adhesives, cosmetic patches and masks, components for medical devices, temperature management, medical diagnostics, and the like.
Despite their wide used in biomedical applications, conventional hydrogels have some drawbacks: they are often weak in mechanical property, incapable of self-healing after fragmentation, difficult to inject, unable to conform to irregular geometry, and unable to deliver non-water soluble drugs. As such, there remains a need to develop new and improved hydrogels. The present invention addresses this and other related needs.